Entries in Movies
(4)

In the previous four posts, we examined how the practice of allowing public officials to appear in films could be used as an alternative method of bribery. While we’ve focused on the idea of a foreign official receiving a cameo, the analysis actually applies to anyone who has a substantial enough connection to a foreign official. After all, the FCPA prohibits bribery through third-party intermediaries. So how should Hollywood behave when doling out film roles abroad?

As we’ve seen in Part I and Part II of this series, a political cameo is valuable enough to operate as a bribe, but does Hollywood really need to worry about the practice exposing it to FCPA liability?

In the first post of this series, I talked about the possibility that political cameos, if used abroad, might serve as an alternative method of corruption. It makes sense to begin the inquiry by valuating a cameo. After all, if a brief appearance on screen isn’t worth much, then it’s unlikely to induce a foreign official to abuse her discretion.